The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. outside Showstoppers Motorcycle Club on Coosa Street. Police said at least 40 rounds were fired in the gun battle.

One of the victims, a man, was loaded into a Birmingham Fire and Rescue truck, but was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other victims were taken to UAB Hospital. One of those was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after arrival.

The other victim at UAB Hospital is expected to survive, said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. A fourth victim showed up at Princeton Baptist Medical Center. That injury was described by Edwards as a graze wound.

Witnesses said the club routinely hosts gatherings on Sunday nights, after a day of motorcycle racing at Lassiter Mountain Dragway. On Sunday night, there were a number of people inside the club playing pool and visiting when they said members of another biker club showed up.

Several women said those inside felt something wasn't right, and said the women were told to go outside. "They surrounded the place, like they were looking for somebody,'' said one witness, who asked that her name not be used. "They were inside and outside and then it was just shooting. We took off. I just ran. There was a lot of shooting."

Another woman said she and her fiancée had just gotten outside when the gunfire erupted. Her 47-year-old fiancée, she said, ducked behind a truck. When the shooting stopped, he came out from hiding but then the bullets started flying again and he was struck.

She said he dropped to the ground, and was bleeding from the mouth. He was conscious at first, but later pronounced dead in the rescue vehicle.

One of the club regulars said Showstoppers has gatherings on Thursday and Sunday nights. Area biker clubs, he said, take turns hosting the gatherings at their own clubhouses. He said Showstoppers is not one of Birmingham's outlaw biker clubs.

The man who was pronounced dead on the scene was an innocent bystander, the regular customer said. "He just comes here after the races to play pool, and talk about how his bikes did in the races,'' he said. "He had two Suzuki 1000's. He didn't drink, didn't smoke. You'll never hear anybody say nothing bad about him."

Police said the scene was chaotic, and the evidence widespread. Shell casings spanned almost the entire block.

Edwards said the investigation is in its early stages, and no arrests have been made. The victims name are being withheld pending notification of family members.

The club regular said there might be repercussions from Sunday night's violence. "This stemmed from something that started in Atlanta two weeks ago,'' he said. "Two other motorcycle clubs just happened to bump heads here, and they started shooting everywhere. That's why so many innocent people were shot."